The Diamond Key
by noneedforapplause
Summary: Sequel to the amber spyglass. What happens when our World finally decides to take action after the fall of the Authority? Find out in the Diamond key, a story of romance, adventure and fantasy that will affect more worlds than one.
1. Chapter 1

_**I own nothing, all right are of those of the great Philip Pullman.**_

_"Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part."_

-St. Augustine.

**The Diamond Key.**

_The fallowing takes place in Will's world._

Chapter I-After Every End Comes a New Beginning

The sharp sound of footsteps could be heard as Marco Aiello, walked quickly down the dark stone hallways of the underground tunnels of the Vatican. His heart was racing as the faint smell of mould wafted up his nostrils, but he hardly took any notice to the smell, he was far too anxious. His fingers twitched compulsively as his heart pounded, sending his heated blood throughout his body.

His dark robes wrapped around his body, making him look almost identical to his inky shadow which was being casted on to the walls by the occasional dying candle. Attached to his waist was a small dark purple velvet pouch, in it, an object that would change the lives of many, in more worlds than one.

Marco finally arrived at a large decaying wooden door at the end of the hallway. He took a moment to smooth down his dark brown hair, before knocking once, small pieces of decaying wood falling from the place where the fisted hand had touched the door.

Without waiting for an answer, he pushed open the door half afraid it would fall apart with the effort, only to revile a sight that sent shivers down his back. His eyes widened as he walked into a perfectly round room, light pouring in from the large skylight above. He pondered for a second on where on earth the light was coming from if they were underground, but the thought slipped his mind as he eyes focused to the middle of the room. The whole room was covered in dark blue, most of them cracked or dirty, giving the room a cold feeling. There, in a large silver chair, the only piece of furnisher in the room, sat the man that made Marco's heart beat so fast, he was pretty sure it was going to burst out of his chest. The Master.

It was a sight it had only heard rumors from the older members blabber on about. Yet, here he was and there he was. Marco would remember this moment for the rest of his life.

Marco, immediately fell to the ground, his hand reaching for the rosary around his neck, his head bowing down to the man he had longed to see since the day he was born.

"You may stand." The Master said in English, his thick Italian accent poking through.

Marco slowly stood, raising his head to get a better look. There, in the large silver chair sat a thin man, wearing the same dark robes as Marco. His face, however, was covered by a golden mask, with slits for his eyes and mouth. His very presence spoke of power and authority.

"It's an honor, Master. For my whole life I have always wante-"Marco said, trying to keep his voice as strong as possible."Silence!" The master said, in a calm voice, but at the same time demanding "What do they call you?"

"Marco. Of the Aiello family." Marco said wishing he could see behind The Master's face, in order to read his expression.

"The Aiello family? Your father and brothers have failed, have they not? In the search of the _Clave_? I think I can still remember your oldest brother's screams." The masked man said in a very calm voice leaning forward in his seat. "He pleaded for his life." He added in a soft whisper.

Marco's breathing sped up and he could feel beads of sweat start to form on his forehead, plastering his hair to his copper tone skin. Roberto. He had been the one who had taught Marco how to fish. He blinked his large brown eyes, before speaking again, pushing all other thought to the back of his mind. "Then they were weak, and deserved what the punishment. Any punishment condemned by The Master is fair."

He had seen his father and 3 older brothers all leave on the same journey in search of the _clave_, all of them had failed and like any other member of a family who was part of the Braciu, they all met the same fate. The Braciu had no room for actions of unfaithfulness.

The Master leaned back in his chair, "I am pleased with your answer Marco, and such dedication from such a young boy is remarkable. How long have you been with the Braciu?"

"Since the day I was born, Master. Since the day my mother brought me into this world, and I opened my eyes to see the grace of God. 18 years, Master, yet as you know, they only allow us to start officially training at the age of 10."

"Impressive Marco Aiello. Now, to business. I assume you have the _Clave_. You know the rules. If a subject of the Braciu brings me the wrong _clave_, they…well, they suffer the same fate as the rest of your family. Are you prepared Marco?"

Marco swallowed blinking several times before walking towards the large silver chair. He was not afraid. He couldn't be wrong, after the long search, after 2 years of going around the world; he refused to end up like his father and brothers. He would not fail.

He could feel the curiosity growing in his chest. Since the age of 10 all males of the Braciu were trained to serve The Master and god. For the last 7 years there had only been one mission for the Braciu: The hunt for the _clave_. No one really knew what the _clave_ was for or what it looked like exactly, except for the fact it was a key that would bring righteousness back into the world.

He bowed once again as he arrived only meters from the man in the golden mask. As he looked down he untied the small purple velvet pouch from his waist and held it in his hands, holding it up to the Master.

"I have been waiting almost 7 years for this. If you have succeeded, you will finally have put things in order Marco, and the Braciu will be able to act. We will finally be able to make our move." And with one swift movement he took the small bag out of Marco's hands and greedily untied it. Behind his mask, his bright blue eyes were glimmering, as his fingers opened the small bag, shaking its contents into his hands.

After a long moment of silence, Marco couldn't take it. "Master, have I failed? If so, I will be the one who shall push the dagger through my own belly. It is what I deserve if I have brought shame to my family, like my father and brothers before me."

After yet another moment of silence The Master finally spoke, "No Marco Aiello, you have done well." He said before laughter filled the room. "You have done your job perfectly. You have proved yourself a flawless subject, and because of that you, I have another job for you."

Marco finally looked up, a smile on his face. "Anything Master. I will always be willing to act in the name of the Braciu. It would be an honor."

"Good, good. I need you to hand deliver this to someone." He said, as he reached into his robe pocket and took out a small envelope "Once you read this, you must memorize it. Once you memorize it, you must burn it. Do you understand Marco?"

Marco nodded and the Master handed him the yellowed envelope and the purple bag once again."Deliver this to the person on the piece of paper Marco. Do not fail, there is too much at stake. Do not speak of the Braciu. Do not tell anyone of your mission."

Marco nodded, once more. "I will not let you or the Braciu down." He said before standing up."I trust you won't Marco. Now go. I do not know when I will see you again, but if I don't, act always in the name of the Braciu and God."

"I will not fail." He said before bowing and leaving the room quickly.

Once the reached past the wooden door and found himself in the dark stone hallway the opened the envelope. In it, he found a picture of a young man with dark hair and dark eyes that seemed to pierce through the very picture. He turned the picture over and memorized the name and address written in messy hand writing and then set the picture and the small piece of paper ablaze of one of the dying candles.

_Will Parry_

_Oxford University_

_England_


	2. Chapter 2

"_You see things; and you say, 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say, 'Why not?'"_

- George Bernard Shaw

Chapter II- Dreams

"_I Will not leave you. I Will not forget you. I will not stop dreaming about you. I will not stop thinking about you. I Will do everything in my power to see you again. I will."_

"Will!"

"Will!"

"Will, wake up mate!"

Will slowly opened his eyes. He turned on his side to see the dim shape of his roommate, Dorian Green, quickly shoving things into his bag and turning on his laptop. His morning grogginess seemed to be making everything blurry and he did his best to focus on what was going on around him.

"We're going to be late for class. What happened to you last night? You're usually the one who has to wake me up after a night of drinking." Dorian asked a smirk curling across his lips as he pulled a jumper over his t-shirt and typed in his password at the same time.

Will sighed, rubbing his face in his hands, trying to wipe the sweat off it. "I went to see my mom and I missed my usual bus. I Ended up catching a much latter one." He explained slowly as he raised himself up on his elbows and yawned. His dark eyes flickered over to Kirjava, who lay curled near his feet.

He knew what she was thinking. It had happened again. It was the 3rd night that week and they needed to do something about it. He couldn't go on living with his thoughts always on the past. He slowly got out of bed, rubbing his hands through his dark hair, reminding himself he was long over dew for a haircut.

"Did you finish your biochem paper?" he heard Dorian ask him as he made his way to the bathroom, grabbing some clean clothes from a large pile on a nearby chair on his way out. "Yeah, but its rubbish."

How Will had got into the University of Oxford was truly a mystery to him. Sure he was a great student and had aced his A-levels but he was sure he had completely messed up the interview (he had never been a big people person and that never changed over time). With that said, he was glad all the same. He seemed to have a great desire to help people and studying medicine seemed to be a great choice.

He quickly shaved, got washed up and dressed and walked back into the bedroom, where Dorian sat, laptop on his lap, quickly typing. Will looked over his shoulder as he quickly put the random books which lay around the bedroom into his brown messenger bag. "I'm guessing you didn't?" Will asked with a small smile.

He was truly lucky to have met Dorian a few months before the first term of his first year at Oxford began in a nearby coffee shop. He was a great guy and brilliant student, just a bit lazy. Dorian, didn't want to be forced to share a dorm room with some weirdo and Will needed a space where they allowed cat

Will considered Dorian as one of his closest friends. Maybe even is only friend, not including Mary.

Dorian chuckled, ruffling up his bright blond hair. "Started last night, I'm just adding the last touches." Will sat down on the edge of the bed, Kirjava looking at him with a piercing glare. He desperately wanted to talk to her about his dreams, but it was going to have to wait.

Dorian shut his lap top shut and put it into his backpack. "Ok, mate, let's go. We are so late." He said looking down at his watch. Will ran his hand along Kirhava's head before exiting the flat behind Dorian.

As the two young adults left their apartment complex, Dorian ruffled his hair and turned to Will "You were saying her name again." He said in a gentle tone, knowing that he was mentioning a sensitive area

"_Lyra._

_Lyra._

_Lyra."_

Will kept quite. He knew he had dreamed of her. It seemed to be happening more and more over the last few weeks. The refreshing sound of her voice, the sweet smell of her hair. It seemed it be haunting him wherever he went.

7 years. 7 years had gone by since he had last felt her lips on his. So much had happened yet he still couldn't keep her out of his mind.

Once he had got back to his world with Mary something happened that seemed to be engraved in his memory for ever: silence. Mary had just stood by his size, both of them looking out to the dark roads of oxford in silence. Trying so hard to take in reality, yet it never really sunk in and at times Will was pretty sure it still hadn't.

After that first night and over the next few months Mary had kept her promise and helped Will get his life back together. After a long process and a lot of convincing from Mary's part, they both took his mother to the doctor to only have her diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.

After a tedious court process, his mother was assigned a live in nurse and with a bit of luck, Mary was declared Will's legal guardian, which pleased all of them because Will was allowed to spend as much time with his mother as he wanted and she was getting the treatment she needed.

Will eventually got back into the school system. The other students seem to fear him partly because they thought it was weird because he was missing two fingers but also because of his eyes, dark and powerful but if you looked a bit further you could see sorrow and pain.

Since coming back to his world there hadn't been a day that he didn't think about Lyra and Pan but as the days turned into weeks, the weeks into months and months into years her presence seemed to haunt him less and less, that is, until a few weeks ago.

Dorian knew better than to insist on the subject but a worried look covered his face. He did enjoy spending time with Will and thought very highly of him, yet he wished that he would open up about his past, tell him about how he really lost his fingers (because he wasn't really buying the "oh, it just happened to cut off both of my fingers" excuse) and who Lyra was. Both of them walked quickly on to campus in silence.

Dorian and Will walked into the classroom, trying to attract as little attention as possible, and took their seats at the back of the classroom. "Nice of you both to join us. Next time Mr. Parry and Mr. Green, try and be on time." Both of the young men turned their heads in the direction of their professor, Dorian's cheeks turning a light shade of pink while Will showed no emotion what so ever.

"Yes Professor." Will said for both of them as he started pulling his stuff out of his bag.

Time seemed to slow down as Will stared into space, occasionally taking notes. His dreams of Lyra had stopped being a daily reoccurrence when he turned 16, so why was it that whenever he shut his eyes he saw her face?

His eyes flickered to the nearby window, looking out over the campus. He noticed a dark figure standing a few feet away from the window, wearing what seemed to be a dark robes, the persons head seemed to be looking down, but slowly started to raise. Will could now see it was a man's face and he was looking right at him. A series of images flashed before Will's eyes: a key, a door, a silver chair, the strangers face, a purple bag and finally Lyra's face and then darkness.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter III- Dial Tone

_Illusion is needed to disguise the emptiness within. _  
**Arthur Erickson **

For the second time that day, Will awoke up to sound of Dorian's voice.

"Wake up Will!"

Will opened his eyes, the light was so intense that he was forced to close them. His head was lying on the small desk in front of him, his dark hair falling across his face.

"Geez mate, just how late did you get home last night? I thought you liked biology…"

Will tried once again to open his eyes, this time with much more success. After processing what had happened he turned his attention to the window only to see that the mysterious cloaked man was no longer there. "Do you think you can give my paper to Professor. Bilton? I've to go do something."

He quickly pulled out a white blur from his bag and handed it to Dorian, before walking out of the building. Leaving Dorian standing with a very confused look on his face.

He made his way to the nearest payphone. Something was very wrong and he need to make sure everything was ok. He walked across campus, the cool wind hitting his face, his mind on one thing. Once he reached the pay phone his finger stumbled to dial the numbers and waited impatiently for someone to pick up.

"Hello? Parry residence." Said a female voice.

"Hello Lisa? It's Will. May I speak to my mother?" Will said quickly, while looking around to make sure no one was watching him.

"Yes, of course." Lisa, his mother's nurse, answered. "I'll go and get her."

Will waited to hear his mother's sweet voice on the other side of the line and prayed that nothing was wrong.

"Hello?" a faint voice said.

"Mother? It's me Will. I just wanted to mak-"

"Will dear, your father was here last night. We had a wonderful time." She interrupted.

Will sighed softly. His mother's condition seemed to be getting worst over time. Over the last few months she hadn't been able to tell the difference between Will and his father. Will had to admit that he did look a lot like his father. They had the same strong jaw, same body type and the same piercing gaze but for a mother not being able to recognize her own son…

"Really mother? I wish I could have been there." He said, seeing no point in telling her that in fact he had. "I just wanted to know if you were ok."

"Yes dear. I'm fine. Don't forget to pick up some eggs; I'll be making an omelet for Will when he gets home from school."

"Yes dear I'll tell him." Will said a serious look appearing on his face "Have a nice rest of a day."

"Oh, I will. Love you dear." She said in a cheerful voice and before Will could answer he heard the dial tone. He stood holding the receiver for what seemed to be forever. After a few deep breaths he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small scrap of paper and a handful of change.

He dialed o long series of numbers before he finally heard the ring.

"_Estou sim_?" a strange male voice said.

"Um, I would like to speak to Mary Malone please." He said very slowly.

"_Ah, sim. Um momento porfavor_." The voice said.

Will hoped that they had gone to get Mary. Mary had gone to spend 3 weeks in Portugal, in order to get to know herself again. She had given Will the phone number of a friend's house just in case of an emergency.

"Hellooo?" a familiar voice said cheerfully.

"Mary? Are you ok?" Will asked anxiously.

"Will?" she asked, the cheerfulness gone from her voice "I'm fine, but what's going on? Is something wrong? Are you ok? Is everything alright with your mother?"

Will sighed and started to tell her about what he had seen. He decided not to tell her about the dreams. He felt it was one of those things that he'd rather keep to himself.

"Oh dear." She said in a worried tone. "Well maybe it's all the stress, school, your mother. You wouldn't be the first person to faint under pressure."

Will brushed his hair of his face in frustration. He wasn't sure what sort of answer he was looking for, but that wasn't it.

"Mary you don't understand it's something el-" he started to say but before he could continue a new voice appeared a man's which was incredibly deep.

"_Will Parry you are the one. The only one. You are the one who will put things back in motion. Only you. Who will be the bringer of sin to more worlds than one. Only you."_

Will almost dropped the receiver in shock, but when he recovered he gripped it fiercely. "Who the hell is this?" he asked.

"Will?" Mary asked "Are you ok? I sort of lost you there. I would think Lisbon would have a better phone line connection…"

"Didn't you hear it?" Will asked confused.

"Hear what Will?"

Will looked around once again, as a feeling of worry filled his being. "Look Mary, I've got to go. See you soon." He said before hanging up.

Will leaned up against the pay phone box, repeating to himself what the voice had said.

_He was the one._

He rushed back to his flat, a thin layer of sweat appearing on his face. He needed o talk to Kirjava. If nothing was wrong in his world, than something he had feared for 7 years was happening.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Hi guys!

First of all, I'm truly surprised that actually anyone is reading this. I decided to write this because I was very unsatisfied by the way the Amber Spyglass ended, but I never thought anyone would actually gave their opinion on that I wrote!

So thank you all so very much.

Now about my spelling…

I'm an awfull speller. I always have been.

That's really all I can say. I always double check my work (something I hate doing) but a lot of things tend to get past me. I'll try and do a better job from no one. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I know I did.

Cheers,

Victoria.

(believe it or not, my real name is not no-need-for-applause :b)


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